Four former Raiders begin the 2024 NHL Playoffs this weekend
The NHL Playoffs begin tonight, with four Prince Albert Raiders alumni in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.
Josh Morrissey:
Morrissey played for the Raiders full time from 2012-14, playing 229 regular season games in a green and gold jersey. The blue liner tallied 196 career points between the Raiders and Kelowna Rockets. He was dealt to Kelowna in December of 2014, where he would go on to capture the WHL Championship in the 2014-15 season. The Calgary, AB product was a first round pick, 13th overall by the Winnipeg Jets, where he is now an alternate captain.
This season with the Jets, Morrissey is the second leading scorer on the team behind Mark Scheifele. In 81 games, he scored 10 goals and added 59 assists for 69 points to go along with a +34 rating, which is the second highest on the team (Dylan DeMelo, +46). It was announced earlier this week that Morrissey was named as the Jets’ nominee for the NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.
Winnipeg takes on the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs, with game one scheduled for Sunday night in Manitoba.
Leon Draisaitl:
Draisaitl followed a similar path to Morrissey, playing in Prince Albert before also being traded to the Rockets. The German import came to Prince Albert in 2012, where he played 128 games in a Raider jersey. He led the Raiders in scoring in the 2013-14 season, where he scored 38 goals and collected 67 assists for 105 points. He finished fourth in WHL scoring that season (Mitch Holmberg, Nicholas Petan, Oliver Bjorkstrand).
At the NHL Entry Draft in 2014, Draisaitl was selected in the first round, third overall by the Edmonton Oilers.
In January of 2015, Draisaitl was dealt to Kelowna in exchange for two players and three draft picks. He joined Morrissey on that team, as they swept the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL final.
Since then, Draisaitl has been one of the best players in the NHL, with 10 season under his belt. In 719 career games, he has 347 goals and 503 assists for 850 career points.
Edmonton begins their playoff schedule on Monday night, as they host the LA Kings. It’s the third season in a row that the Oilers and Kings have gone head to head in the first round of the playoffs.
Aliaksei Protas:
“The Viper from Vitebsk” as he was known for his tenure in Prince Albert, was a key piece in bringing the WHL Championship to the Art Hauser Centre in 2019. His 40 points that season were the most among Raider rookies, where he scored 11 goals and added 29 assists. In 23 playoff games that year, Protas kept producing, as his 22 points (12G-10A) were fourth highest on the team. Seven of those points came in the final, where everyone remembers the Raiders defeat the Vancouver Giants in overtime of game seven at the Art Hauser Centre.
In 2019-20, Protas led the Raiders in scoring with 31 goals and 49 assists for 80 points, which put him top ten in league scoring. That season ended up getting cut short due to COVID starting, where the Raiders would have had a shot to repeat as champs.
Protas, who joined the Raiders in the CHL Import Draft, was taken in the NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals. He was a third round pick, and has spent time with both the Capitals, and their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. Last season, Protas won the AHL Championship with Hershey, as they took down the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime of game seven, much how he won the WHL Championship with the Raiders three years before. In 20 playoff games that season, he scored five goals and picked up eight assists for 13 points.
This season with the Capitals, the Belarusian played a career high 78 games, where he scored six goals and collected 23 helpers for a career high 29 points.
Washington starts their playoff schedule on Sunday, as they battle the President’s Trophy winners, the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Noah Gregor:
The Raiders took a shot on Gregor prior to the 2018-19 season, acquiring his rights from the Victoria Royals in the off season. The Beaumont, AB product was a noteworthy scorer in the WHL, where he 65 points in 60 games in the 2017-18 season, where he spent time with both the Royals and Moose Jaw Warriors.
His final season in the league came with the Raiders as a 20-year-old, and he made the most of it. His 88 points (43G-45A) in the 2018-19 season were the second most on the team, just one back of Brett Leason. His 43 goals were the most on the team, and fifth most in the WHL. The forward finished in a tie for second in team scoring in the postseason, registering 24 points, again just one behind Leason. His 13 postseason goals were also second highest on the team, only behind Dante Hannoun who had 14, with his 14th going down in history as the overtime winner against the Giants in game seven.
Since then, Gregor has been in the NHL for most of his professional career. Originally a fourth round pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2016, Gregor was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs in October of 2023. In 63 games this season in Toronto, he has proven himself as a solid depth player, scoring six goals and adding six assists.
On Saturday night, the saga continues between the Leafs and one of their biggest rivals, the Boston Bruins. They square off in the playoffs yet again, with the Bruins holding home ice advantage.